Thoughts on Obadiah

Today's reading: Obadiah; Mark 11

I have always thought Obadiah was a little weird because it is basically fully an oracle against Edom, rather than anything specifically directed to Israel, but even though the Lord is speaking to Edom, this is still a message of encouragement and hope to Israel.

The reason Obadiah has generally struck me as weird for this is that the book is entirely directed to another nation. It is very normal for the other prophets to include oracles against the nations throughout their writings, but the bulk of the writing is still focused on (or directed to) Israel. For Obadiah though, the entire short book is directed at a different audience, which always made it feel a bit like it didn't belong. The reality is though that an oracle written against another nation, whether it is one part of a prophet's writing, or the entirety of it, is still intended for Israel.

In the case of Obadiah, God is bringing an indictment against Edom for their hand in the destruction of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar came against Judah, not only did Edom not come to help or support Judah, but they sided with Babylon and helped/profited from the destruction of God's people. On the one hand, we have already seen numerous times in the prophets where God declares that He is using a nation to bring judgement on Israel, but will later judge that nation because they are doing it for their own purposes rather than for the Lord's, which would put Edom in the crosshairs no matter what. However, on the other hand, it's worse than that for Edom because they are family to Israel! Edom is the nation that came forth from Esau, Israel's twin brother, so if any nation is going to hesitate before taking part in the destruction of Judah, it should be Edom. Now, that said, Israel and Edom were never really on good terms, Edom refusing Israel passage while they were wandering in the wilderness, David and Solomon subjugating Edom during their reigns, etc., but the indictment from the Lord nonetheless stands.

So the Lord declares His judgement against Edom for their hand in the destruction of Judah, but then also takes that indictment more broad, encompassing all the nations. Obadiah turns his sights to the day of the Lord, declaring that all the nations will reap from the Lord what they have sewn on that day; all the nations except one, Israel. The nations may have flourished while Israel was judged, but God will one day reverse that situation and judge the nations while those on Mount Zion shall escape and the Lord's people shall have their possession.

To Obadiah's original readers, this was a note of assurance that the Lord was not impotent to stop Israel's destruction, and He was not ignoring it, but would repay fully those nations who had come against His people, while also restoring His people to their promised inheritance.

And to us today, this is also a message of hope and encouragement as we look forward to that coming day of the Lord. God will judge the nations, but, in Christ, we have been pulled from the nations and given a new heavenly citizenship in Zion, where God's people will escape judgement on that day and enter into their proper possession.